Aura Lopez

Manager, Center for International Medical Education, The Cleveland Clinic

Manager, Center for International Medical Education, The Cleveland Clinic

Aura Lopez never had any doubt what she was going to do when she grew up. As the daughter of two biochemists, international travel and experiences were a part of her life early on. She went to a private, bilingual school in her native Mexico and, at 10 years old, her parents sent her and her 12-year-old brother to Oklahoma to stay with friends to experience American culture. After her first trip abroad, Ms. Lopez knew international travel was in her future. Now 29, she is the manager of the Center for International Medical Education at the Cleveland Clinic. Ms. Lopez is responsible for finding opportunities for Clinic doctors to take their expertise to foreign countries by speaking at international medical conferences or through partnerships with other medical or academic institutions. Her ability to build the Clinic's brand overseas is measured by the number of patients who seek care at the Clinic following a physician's presence in that country, she said. By traveling eight to 10 times a year to accompany a physician to an event overseas or to scout a new market, Ms. Lopez gets a lot of patients referred to the Clinic. She then works with the Clinic's Global Patient Services office to help those foreign patients navigate the Clinic system. It's a job with many facets, but one that keeps Ms. Lopez on her toes as she deals with operations, business origination, patient care and motivating her two employees. While she enjoys dealing with people from all over the world, Ms. Lopez said it can be challenging as not all countries have the same sense of urgency as the United States. She often must start working on projects 18 months before they happen. Though she misses her family and her home country, Ms. Lopez likes living in the United States, and specifically, Cleveland. “Americans have a natural tendency to associate and make it happen,” she said, noting the professional and social organizations that are so prominent in this country. Enjoying that kind of support helped Ms. Lopez make it in the United States without giving in to homesickness and moving back to Mexico, as she has seen so many women like her do. Eventually, she'd like to live in another country. “I see myself overseeing the entire international department of a company,” said Ms. Lopez, who earned her master's degree in international business law at Case Western Reserve University. To hear Dr. Andrew Fishleder tell it, Ms. Lopez's personal attributes just might get her there. As the chairman of the education institute at the Clinic, Dr. Fishleder oversees Ms. Lopez's office and he works closely with her on various projects. “She's hardworking, very well organized and very responsible,” he said. “She has a broad skill set in working with a diverse population.”